WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.259 Dear wonderful listeners if you're looking to 00:00:02.259 --> 00:00:04.139 define your brand's core message but aren't sure 00:00:04.139 --> 00:00:06.599 where to start, that's where Smart Beauty can 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:09.240 help. We're offering a 90 -minute deep dive into 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:11.640 your brand to give you clear action points on 00:00:11.640 --> 00:00:13.720 your messaging and strategy to help you grow 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:16.460 and scale, so that you can get noticed by customers, 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.399 retailers and investors, and start to see sales 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:22.140 soar. And the cost of this deep dive is redeemable 00:00:22.140 --> 00:00:24.460 against any larger project you work with us on, 00:00:24.780 --> 00:00:26.760 so you get all of that insight and value with 00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:29.079 minimal risk. We're looking for a few new clients 00:00:29.079 --> 00:00:31.739 who are ready to see amazing results. Just email 00:00:31.739 --> 00:00:34.420 hello at smartbeautycreative .com to find out 00:00:34.420 --> 00:00:50.100 more. Hello and welcome to the Smart Beauty Podcast. 00:00:50.509 --> 00:00:53.509 I'm your host, Viola Levy, beauty journalist 00:00:53.509 --> 00:00:56.409 and founder of copy led branding agency Smart 00:00:56.409 --> 00:00:59.149 Beauty Creative. We're here to create your brand 00:00:59.149 --> 00:01:06.370 voice and craft the story behind it. Today I'm 00:01:06.370 --> 00:01:09.269 joined by Roshan Dorsett, founder of The Glossary, 00:01:09.689 --> 00:01:12.469 a pioneering whole food, superfood skincare brand 00:01:12.469 --> 00:01:14.750 built on the philosophy that what you put on 00:01:14.750 --> 00:01:16.870 your body should be as nutritious as what you 00:01:16.870 --> 00:01:20.269 put in it. In this episode, Rishan shares her 00:01:20.269 --> 00:01:22.489 fascinating journey from working in criminal 00:01:22.489 --> 00:01:25.689 and human rights law to becoming a natural skincare 00:01:25.689 --> 00:01:28.969 formulator and entrepreneur. Yes, she formulates 00:01:28.969 --> 00:01:31.829 her own products. We discussed how she self -funded 00:01:31.829 --> 00:01:34.709 her business by working double shifts, her commitment 00:01:34.709 --> 00:01:37.569 to cold pressed nutrient dense ingredients, and 00:01:37.569 --> 00:01:39.689 the challenges of building an indie beauty brand 00:01:39.689 --> 00:01:42.780 from the ground up. If you're interested in sustainable 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:45.780 beauty, entrepreneurship, or just curious about 00:01:45.780 --> 00:01:48.459 how natural skincare products are actually formulated, 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:51.799 you're in for a treat. Reshan offers incredibly 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:54.659 candid insights into pricing strategies, building 00:01:54.659 --> 00:01:57.640 community, navigating retail partnerships, and 00:01:57.640 --> 00:01:59.719 staying true to your brand values in a crowded 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:03.120 market. The Glossary has already won beauty awards 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:05.560 and developed cult products like their Clean 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:08.159 Green Superfood Serum, all while maintaining 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:10.599 their commitment to eco -friendly practices and 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:13.199 high performance natural formulations. So whether 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:15.740 you're an aspiring founder, skincare enthusiast, 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:18.240 or someone who's just interested in how beauty 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:20.699 businesses can thrive, I know you'll find value 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:23.580 in our chat today. Let's dive in. So Rishan, 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:25.719 thank you so much for joining me on the podcast. 00:02:25.819 --> 00:02:27.719 Really lovely to have you on the show. Thank 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:29.680 you for having me. I'm really excited to be here. 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:32.539 So you launched The Glossary with kind of a fresh 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:35.180 perspective on natural skincare. What inspired 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:38.800 you to create the brand and what kind of gap 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:40.860 did you see in the market that you felt like 00:02:40.860 --> 00:02:42.979 the time was right for a brand like The Glossary 00:02:42.979 --> 00:02:46.699 to launch? Before I was a founder of a skincare 00:02:46.699 --> 00:02:49.430 brand or a natural skincare formulator. I was 00:02:49.430 --> 00:02:52.189 working in criminal and human rights law as a 00:02:52.189 --> 00:02:54.969 paralegal. So I was handling joint enterprise 00:02:54.969 --> 00:02:59.030 murder and public law cases. And the job really 00:02:59.030 --> 00:03:02.310 required me to go to a lot of high security prisons 00:03:02.310 --> 00:03:04.889 and Crown courts. And they don't really teach 00:03:04.889 --> 00:03:08.270 you this at uni that whilst I have a passion 00:03:08.270 --> 00:03:11.069 for justice, they don't teach you the emotional 00:03:11.069 --> 00:03:14.349 management side of going into those kind of high 00:03:14.349 --> 00:03:17.889 intensity cases. Yeah. So I just remember being 00:03:17.889 --> 00:03:20.370 like, I think I was a bit bewildered, really. 00:03:20.430 --> 00:03:22.490 I remember thinking, oh, this doesn't really 00:03:22.490 --> 00:03:24.810 align with me. I'm not really like I don't really 00:03:24.810 --> 00:03:27.569 feel comfortable. The emotional stress of it 00:03:27.569 --> 00:03:31.830 all. And I it all came to I kind of ignored that. 00:03:31.909 --> 00:03:33.969 But it all came to a head about a year and a 00:03:33.969 --> 00:03:36.449 half later. And I just remember breaking down 00:03:36.449 --> 00:03:38.250 in my kitchen to my mum and my sister. And I 00:03:38.250 --> 00:03:40.729 was just I'm just not happy. I don't feel fulfilled 00:03:40.729 --> 00:03:45.860 in this role. So I quit and. when I quit I was 00:03:45.860 --> 00:03:48.439 looking for ways to get back to my normal bubbly 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:51.479 self. I have quite like a positive outlook on 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:54.840 life, quite a high energy personality and I feel 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:58.780 like that job had just taken all of that from 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:02.080 me. So on that journey I started then exploring 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:06.860 wellness and that eventually led me down to veganism 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:09.300 and then as I was being more conscious of what 00:04:09.300 --> 00:04:12.819 I was putting into my body that natural curiosity 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:16.800 then branched out to my skincare routine. And 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:20.759 I was just really frustrated. And I think I was 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:23.699 just also really annoyed that I was spending 00:04:23.699 --> 00:04:27.680 money paying a premium price for ingredients 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.560 that had little to no nutritional benefit to 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:34.120 my skin, that were really ultra processed, that 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:36.379 were really synthetic, that weren't really good 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:38.959 for my skin's health or the health of the environment. 00:04:39.660 --> 00:04:42.870 So I thought there's clearly a need for like 00:04:42.870 --> 00:04:45.170 nutrient rich skincare here that looks after 00:04:45.170 --> 00:04:47.089 your skin and looks after the planet. So that's 00:04:47.089 --> 00:04:50.889 how I decided then to retrain as a natural skincare 00:04:50.889 --> 00:04:54.089 formulator and then eventually launch the Glow 00:04:54.089 --> 00:04:56.189 Sweet. So it's been a bit of a journey, but I 00:04:56.189 --> 00:04:58.769 can see that all needed to happen for me to get. 00:04:59.670 --> 00:05:02.430 Yeah. So you actually formulate the product. 00:05:02.870 --> 00:05:04.930 So like many founders, they kind of outsource 00:05:04.930 --> 00:05:08.009 that side of things, but you are actually putting 00:05:08.009 --> 00:05:13.329 these formulas together and actually, yeah, Yeah, 00:05:14.470 --> 00:05:17.170 I kind of describe it like Breaking Bad, if anyone's 00:05:17.170 --> 00:05:19.069 watched Breaking Bad, but just using natural 00:05:19.069 --> 00:05:22.649 ingredients. So that's what I'm like, making 00:05:22.649 --> 00:05:25.550 sure the formulas work. So that's the part that 00:05:25.550 --> 00:05:28.870 I really do enjoy. It does take quite a long 00:05:28.870 --> 00:05:31.189 time, but I really do enjoy that creative process. 00:05:31.209 --> 00:05:34.129 And when you finally get it, and then as the 00:05:34.129 --> 00:05:36.670 brand has received like beauty awards and recognition 00:05:36.670 --> 00:05:39.370 from different press houses, you're like, it's 00:05:39.370 --> 00:05:42.000 like extremely rewarding. So when people ask 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:43.839 you about your products, you can really go into 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:46.600 the weeds and sort of go into the, you know, 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:49.779 delve into the actual granular science as opposed 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:53.199 to just telling a nice marketing story. Exactly. 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:56.199 Exactly. I know what's in there. Yeah. And that 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:58.019 makes a difference because I think so many customers 00:05:58.019 --> 00:06:01.639 now want brands to be transparent about what 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:03.420 exactly is in the products, how the formulas 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:05.959 actually work. And I think that a lot of brands 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:09.639 still are struggling to be upfront and honest, 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:11.660 because a lot of them still don't really know 00:06:11.660 --> 00:06:14.120 they're kind of, well, we'll check with the formulators 00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:17.360 and then get back to you. There's kind of that 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:21.000 secondhand knowledge that I think creates sort 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:23.699 of issues when it was from a customer's perspective. 00:06:24.339 --> 00:06:27.360 Exactly that. And there seems to be, sorry, carry 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:29.579 on. No, no, no, no, I said I just wanted, I wanted 00:06:29.579 --> 00:06:31.740 to have that conviction because I didn't have 00:06:31.740 --> 00:06:35.720 any beauty contacts or beauty knowledge prior 00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:38.060 to that course. I wanted I wanted to have the 00:06:38.060 --> 00:06:40.000 confidence that if someone did challenge me about 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:43.300 what was in the product I knew I could say this 00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:44.800 is the ingredients list, this is why we've put 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:48.060 it in. So that's also why I decided to manufacture 00:06:48.060 --> 00:06:51.160 myself. Did anything when you were studying shock 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:55.139 or surprise you when it comes to like formulating 00:06:55.139 --> 00:06:59.000 how products are formulated? Yeah when I suppose 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:03.149 when I was doing that initial initial search 00:07:03.149 --> 00:07:05.509 of the different beauty brands and what they 00:07:05.509 --> 00:07:07.689 were using. I think what just really shocked 00:07:07.689 --> 00:07:10.949 me is that there's still the misconception that 00:07:10.949 --> 00:07:14.589 natural skincare doesn't work. And that course 00:07:14.589 --> 00:07:16.709 taught me that actually if you use high quality, 00:07:16.850 --> 00:07:18.610 high performance ingredients, you can get incredible 00:07:18.610 --> 00:07:21.670 results. And then I was also shocked that there's 00:07:21.670 --> 00:07:24.420 still a misconception that luxury price tags 00:07:24.420 --> 00:07:26.980 means luxury ingredients like even this week 00:07:26.980 --> 00:07:29.459 i've gone into beauty aisles and i've read some 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:31.899 of the ingredients that are in some of these 00:07:31.899 --> 00:07:37.720 established luxury brands and it's micro plastics 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:41.720 it's petrochemicals it's really cheap industrialized 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:45.699 ingredients and i'm like wow i i didn't the customer 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:48.000 doesn't know that not a lot of customers know 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:52.000 this so yeah it's quite shocking Definitely. 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:54.300 And I feel like when it comes to superfoods, 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.199 there's a lot of crossover into things like skincare 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:00.120 and haircare. Would you say that's the case? 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:01.779 And do you think that's kind of going to set 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:05.300 to continue? Yeah, I definitely see the, people 00:08:05.300 --> 00:08:07.939 keep talking about the intersection between skincare 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:10.240 and wellness. And I definitely think we're going 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.180 to see that in the coming years in the beauty 00:08:12.180 --> 00:08:15.720 industry. People want to look after themselves. 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:18.519 I suppose from a holistic level and skincare 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:20.839 does play a part of that and so does what you 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:23.360 eat, so does your lifestyle, how you talk about 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:26.220 yourself, so I definitely see that interconnectedness 00:08:26.220 --> 00:08:29.120 growing. How did you land on the concept of cold 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:32.419 pressed superfoods and how important was it kind 00:08:32.419 --> 00:08:34.360 of finding that niche when starting your brand? 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:37.740 It was just, it was from the connection of being 00:08:37.740 --> 00:08:40.960 vegan so I was, I just started eating more fresh 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:42.539 fruits and vegetables and it was just that I 00:08:42.539 --> 00:08:47.370 just had more energy, my brain fog cleared, I 00:08:47.370 --> 00:08:50.570 just felt more comfortable in myself. So naturally 00:08:50.570 --> 00:08:53.330 when I started then thinking about what ingredients 00:08:53.330 --> 00:08:56.210 that I wanted to use in the glossary, it was 00:08:56.210 --> 00:08:58.990 that natural progression to cold press, because 00:08:58.990 --> 00:09:02.309 for me cold press retain more of the nutrients 00:09:02.309 --> 00:09:05.330 of that fruit and vegetable. Yes. So in order 00:09:05.330 --> 00:09:08.830 to have a high performance nutrient dense product, 00:09:08.889 --> 00:09:11.490 I knew I wanted to use a majority of those ingredients. 00:09:12.250 --> 00:09:15.860 And Yeah, I suppose reflecting from my diet and 00:09:15.860 --> 00:09:18.120 the positive impacts that I've had, it just made 00:09:18.120 --> 00:09:20.139 sense for me to carry that through to my skincare 00:09:20.139 --> 00:09:23.019 routine as well. Yeah, definitely, because it's 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:24.620 not about just what you ingest, but you're putting 00:09:24.620 --> 00:09:26.500 stuff on your skin that's then being absorbed 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:29.600 into your bloodstream, so it makes a lot of sense. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:33.019 And a lot of niche founders, I think, struggle 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:36.259 to stand out in a crowded market. What would 00:09:36.259 --> 00:09:38.980 be your advice to other brand founders when it 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:42.360 comes to storytelling and really kind of setting 00:09:42.360 --> 00:09:45.480 yourself apart from all of the industry noise 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:48.379 that's out there? That's a really good question. 00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:50.820 I would definitely say you have to think about 00:09:50.820 --> 00:09:53.220 your why and why you started it and then how 00:09:53.220 --> 00:09:56.500 it aligns with your, I suppose, personal story. 00:09:56.620 --> 00:10:00.350 A lot of founders that have a lot of brands that 00:10:00.350 --> 00:10:03.529 are really successful, they just remember their 00:10:03.529 --> 00:10:07.230 founder story. Even if you haven't connected 00:10:07.230 --> 00:10:10.110 with that founder in real life, you've seen their 00:10:10.110 --> 00:10:12.309 story across digital or across social, and it 00:10:12.309 --> 00:10:14.570 just sticks in your head. So you have to get 00:10:14.570 --> 00:10:17.669 really granular of how I suppose your personal 00:10:17.669 --> 00:10:22.649 frustrations have then allowed you to create 00:10:22.649 --> 00:10:26.610 a brand that's solving an issue for you and people 00:10:26.610 --> 00:10:30.830 for your target consumer. So that's how I went 00:10:30.830 --> 00:10:33.509 about it with the GlowCity. So I think you really 00:10:33.509 --> 00:10:36.350 need to... What is your why? I suppose Simon 00:10:36.350 --> 00:10:39.570 Sinek always says it, what is your why? And how 00:10:39.570 --> 00:10:43.110 have you used that why then to create your brand 00:10:43.110 --> 00:10:44.909 or your service that you're putting out into 00:10:44.909 --> 00:10:47.250 the world? Yeah, because that's really the heart 00:10:47.250 --> 00:10:49.029 of your brand. It's not just the products, but 00:10:49.029 --> 00:10:51.690 why have you created them? Because there's so 00:10:51.690 --> 00:10:53.250 much that's already out there. Like, what is 00:10:53.250 --> 00:10:56.600 it that you're adding that... Yeah, people haven't 00:10:56.600 --> 00:10:58.679 seen before. So I think that's super important. 00:10:58.940 --> 00:11:03.720 Yeah. And also when it comes to words like natural 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:05.919 and green and clean, there's obviously like a 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:08.580 lot of misinformation out there, a lot of brands 00:11:08.580 --> 00:11:11.539 paying lip service to the issue. I mean, how 00:11:11.539 --> 00:11:14.600 would you advise beauty founders kind of communicate 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:18.379 transparency and efficacy without kind of falling 00:11:18.379 --> 00:11:21.419 into the trap of green washing, like from drawing 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:23.769 from your own experience with the glossary? Yeah, 00:11:23.789 --> 00:11:26.769 so we try and avoid using words like clean or 00:11:26.769 --> 00:11:29.929 green because they don't really have a standard 00:11:29.929 --> 00:11:33.350 definition. And I think a lot of the brands, 00:11:33.769 --> 00:11:35.389 there's a lot of brands doing it well, don't 00:11:35.389 --> 00:11:37.889 get me wrong. But then I also think it's been 00:11:37.889 --> 00:11:39.990 used by people who are not doing it so well to 00:11:39.990 --> 00:11:43.029 try and greenwash and pretend that they're also 00:11:43.029 --> 00:11:47.009 being more sustainable. So I would say that there's 00:11:47.009 --> 00:11:48.870 little things that brand founders could do. So 00:11:48.870 --> 00:11:51.240 here at the glossary. As you've already mentioned, 00:11:51.299 --> 00:11:54.000 we use cold pressed ingredients. They've been 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:58.460 processed using little to no heat. We then use 00:11:58.460 --> 00:12:01.600 eco -friendly packaging materials. So all of 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:05.019 our craft paper boxes, all our boxes are craft 00:12:05.019 --> 00:12:07.600 paper. So is our tape. And then even down to 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.879 our package of peanuts, they're biodegradable. 00:12:10.259 --> 00:12:12.980 So there's little things that you can shout about 00:12:12.980 --> 00:12:15.779 that actually make a big difference to consumers 00:12:15.779 --> 00:12:19.460 and customers looking to support. beauty brands 00:12:19.460 --> 00:12:24.379 like us without having to, I don't know, shout 00:12:24.379 --> 00:12:29.779 too loudly about being clean because I think 00:12:29.779 --> 00:12:33.080 the beauty consumers are becoming really a lot 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:37.240 more savvy now and they can see through the mud, 00:12:38.019 --> 00:12:40.039 they can see through it all. So I think just 00:12:40.039 --> 00:12:42.159 being really clear on just the little things 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:43.980 that you're doing because at the end of the day, 00:12:44.259 --> 00:12:47.480 a lot of us independent brands, we are usually 00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:51.139 a small team, a team of one, so even the small 00:12:51.139 --> 00:12:54.460 differences that you are making can add up to 00:12:54.460 --> 00:12:58.519 incredible change. Definitely, and I think sort 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:01.080 of being eco -friendly, it's not really even 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:04.139 a sort of USP anymore, it's like a standard. 00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:07.500 Yeah, I think even like veganism and cruelty 00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:10.039 free, I think it's like a hygiene issue, I think 00:13:10.039 --> 00:13:12.659 all brands should really be trying to strive 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:15.879 towards that. I couldn't agree more. And when 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:18.500 it comes to community, obviously that's very 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:20.820 important to your brand. How did you go about 00:13:20.820 --> 00:13:24.399 building the community around the glossary? And 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:27.080 how would you kind of advise other beauty founders, 00:13:27.299 --> 00:13:30.799 create a community from scratch, organically? 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:34.080 Because I imagine that's no easy task. So what 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:37.080 were the... So it's interesting that you said 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:40.120 that because even, I think it was like a couple 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:44.100 of weeks ago, I had... sat I sat down and had 00:13:44.100 --> 00:13:48.320 conversations with 15 of our VIP customers and 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:50.159 I just really got to know them because I got 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:52.299 to a point where I had to hold my hands up and 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:55.559 be like okay I don't really know them I know 00:13:55.559 --> 00:13:58.919 what their favorite products I know how frequently 00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:01.440 they buy but I didn't really know where they 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:03.840 were shopping what they done in their spare time 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:05.879 what they like to splurge on what they like to 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:08.440 save on how do they enjoy how do they take time 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:10.820 out to enjoy themselves or relax so I sat down 00:14:10.820 --> 00:14:14.929 with 15 of them via zoom and then just had a 00:14:14.929 --> 00:14:16.809 chat with them and it was and it was really nice 00:14:16.809 --> 00:14:18.909 i remember coming off the course just feeling 00:14:18.909 --> 00:14:21.029 on a high because it was just so nice to get 00:14:21.029 --> 00:14:24.190 to know them and then for them to get to know 00:14:24.190 --> 00:14:26.289 me and it didn't and it didn't cost anything 00:14:26.289 --> 00:14:30.090 it cost what a afternoon and some free products 00:14:30.090 --> 00:14:33.440 for the people that took the calls with me in 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:36.720 return for incredible insights that I can then 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:39.240 implement into the glossaries, digital strategies 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:41.639 and new product development strategies. So I 00:14:41.639 --> 00:14:45.440 would say to any founders doing it, you don't 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:48.940 have to spend so much on expensive focus groups. 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:53.360 You can literally just book in Zoom calls. And 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:56.379 the community, they really enjoyed it. And now 00:14:56.379 --> 00:14:59.379 I've just really built some great connections 00:14:59.379 --> 00:15:02.870 with some of the glossaries. VIP customers. I 00:15:02.870 --> 00:15:05.870 would definitely say you can do it on a small 00:15:05.870 --> 00:15:09.870 or no budget and I would definitely say bringing 00:15:09.870 --> 00:15:13.389 them along the journey. So I've got better at 00:15:13.389 --> 00:15:16.830 doing it now, but storytelling on socials and 00:15:16.830 --> 00:15:20.090 showing them the process. So I'm trying to create, 00:15:20.809 --> 00:15:23.649 launch new products this year and I've just asked 00:15:23.649 --> 00:15:26.090 them what do you want to see from the glossary? 00:15:26.210 --> 00:15:28.149 What ingredients would you like? What benefits 00:15:28.149 --> 00:15:31.289 would you like to the product to have, even down 00:15:31.289 --> 00:15:32.970 to the packaging what would you like it to look 00:15:32.970 --> 00:15:36.090 like and that creates just a bit of excitement 00:15:36.090 --> 00:15:39.490 and creates a bit more brand loyalty than just 00:15:39.490 --> 00:15:43.029 creating products that I want to release. Yeah 00:15:43.029 --> 00:15:44.649 and it shows that you're listening to your customers 00:15:44.649 --> 00:15:48.289 as well and it's kind of a circular process because 00:15:48.289 --> 00:15:49.629 then the products that you're putting out you 00:15:49.629 --> 00:15:51.809 know that that's what they are interested in 00:15:51.809 --> 00:15:54.559 and what they're going to buy. Exactly. which 00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:56.980 I think is hugely important. And when it comes 00:15:56.980 --> 00:16:01.440 to funding, obviously that is a huge barrier 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:05.620 to a lot of startups. How did you self -fund 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:07.899 in the early days of the Glossary and what advice 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:11.039 would you give to other founders? So I actually 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:13.899 worked two jobs. I remember how I used to work 00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:18.700 two part -time jobs, and then I left to go work 00:16:18.700 --> 00:16:21.500 in a warehouse because I was just able to earn 00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:25.500 more money. So it was quite intense, but I remember 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:29.559 at the time, even though I was absolutely exhausted, 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:31.600 I was just like, you're doing it for a reason, 00:16:31.659 --> 00:16:34.759 this is not gonna be the long term. So I was 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.980 able to save up, I can't remember the exact amount, 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.809 but I know it was under 5K. And then I used that 00:16:41.809 --> 00:16:45.250 5K to then invest in the branding. So we've got 00:16:45.250 --> 00:16:49.370 professional book branding done. I then had to 00:16:49.370 --> 00:16:52.850 bulk buy the ingredients, packaging, then done 00:16:52.850 --> 00:16:54.850 the website development and then all our product 00:16:54.850 --> 00:16:57.549 safety testing. So yeah, it was kind of a hard 00:16:57.549 --> 00:16:59.490 graft at the time because I was doing back -to 00:16:59.490 --> 00:17:03.590 -back shifts. I would do daytime at one job and 00:17:03.590 --> 00:17:06.710 then go work a night shift in the other. So yeah, 00:17:06.789 --> 00:17:10.759 quite intense. I know, quite intense. It enabled 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:13.140 me to save enough for the initial investment. 00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:15.299 What kept you going through that time? Because 00:17:15.299 --> 00:17:18.660 I imagine it was, yeah, it must have been like 00:17:18.660 --> 00:17:20.819 a real kind of test of your faith in the brand 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:24.240 and your kind of dream for what you were wanting 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:29.140 to build. Yeah, it was horrible, but there was 00:17:29.140 --> 00:17:32.220 no other way around it. I couldn't rely on a 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:35.000 friends and family round. I didn't really know 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.119 all. understand like VC investment or agent investment, 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:40.680 if I'm totally being honest at the beginning 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:43.319 of my journey. So I just had to get my head down 00:17:43.319 --> 00:17:46.000 and yeah, push through it. I think there's a 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:48.759 lot of gatekeeping when it comes to advice with 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:53.059 regards to what you just mentioned. What would 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:55.259 you say are like the best kind of, did you sort 00:17:55.259 --> 00:17:59.900 of like find any resources or things that you 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:02.059 know now that you didn't know then that you wish 00:18:02.059 --> 00:18:10.049 you'd kind of found out about? Yeah, so I learned 00:18:10.049 --> 00:18:13.569 about local grants, so I didn't know this initially. 00:18:14.289 --> 00:18:17.150 So where I'm based, you can get local grants 00:18:17.150 --> 00:18:21.069 from the council. So I didn't know that, but 00:18:21.069 --> 00:18:25.170 I know that now. And then I found out about Virgin 00:18:25.170 --> 00:18:30.430 Startup and then they offer business loans, but 00:18:30.430 --> 00:18:35.769 they have a more comfortable interest or repayment 00:18:35.769 --> 00:18:39.569 terms than banks do. But even to this day, how 00:18:39.569 --> 00:18:43.109 many years in I'm into my journey, I still don't 00:18:43.109 --> 00:18:47.170 understand how to go about finding like VC investment. 00:18:47.430 --> 00:18:49.849 People have said LinkedIn, and I'm like, but 00:18:49.849 --> 00:18:53.509 that just takes such an amount of time and you 00:18:53.509 --> 00:18:55.970 need to get really granular of who you're looking 00:18:55.970 --> 00:18:57.829 for. If you don't know who you're looking for, 00:18:58.009 --> 00:19:00.150 how could then you go and search for it? But 00:19:00.150 --> 00:19:03.369 I've also been told that there's found out from 00:19:03.369 --> 00:19:05.690 a hundred allies actually that there's brokers 00:19:05.690 --> 00:19:08.390 that you can use who can then go out and find 00:19:08.390 --> 00:19:11.369 you VCs or angel investment. So you're not doing 00:19:11.369 --> 00:19:14.849 it yourself, but close to five years old now. 00:19:14.849 --> 00:19:18.369 And I've just learned about that. So yeah, I 00:19:18.369 --> 00:19:20.369 mean, that's the problem. If the information 00:19:20.369 --> 00:19:22.150 isn't freely available, if you don't, you know, 00:19:22.150 --> 00:19:25.509 if you don't know, you don't know. And it's a 00:19:25.509 --> 00:19:27.990 huge barrier for a lot of, for a lot of startups. 00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:32.640 And also you built the Glossary through organic 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:34.940 marketing and social media, which is incredible. 00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:38.440 What strategies would you say worked best when 00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:41.740 it came to generating visibility without having 00:19:41.740 --> 00:19:45.200 that huge budget? Yeah. So it was definitely 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:49.859 organic influencer outreach and then PR. And 00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:53.420 then I started just attending networking events. 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:56.039 So with the organic outreach to influencers, 00:19:56.299 --> 00:20:01.240 before I even before I even started launching 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:04.740 the Glowstreet, I had my Instagram platform and 00:20:04.740 --> 00:20:08.559 I would go through other brands and see who was 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:11.279 liking their upper aligned brands and see what 00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:12.920 influencers were liking their posts. And then 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:15.059 I would just follow them and then start building 00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:17.920 up, I suppose, digital relationship through liking 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:21.599 their content, maybe was commenting. And I started 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:24.400 building up that relationship that way. And then 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:26.920 I worked with an incredible freelance PR from 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:30.200 the beginning. and she was just a powerhouse. 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:34.140 They just was able to get us into such incredible 00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:40.180 press. I do think, looking back as well, really 00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:42.700 great work ethic, but you know how they say, 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:47.059 also luck comes into it. It was during COVID, 00:20:47.799 --> 00:20:50.960 everyone was at home, everyone was looking. Yes, 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:54.019 everyone was wanting to improve their skincare 00:20:54.019 --> 00:20:57.529 routines. Also, around the Black Lives Matter 00:20:57.529 --> 00:20:59.990 movement, people were looking to support more 00:20:59.990 --> 00:21:03.609 black owned brands. So I do think that it worked 00:21:03.609 --> 00:21:07.529 hand in hand. And then I then started joining 00:21:07.529 --> 00:21:10.529 Alliance Communities. So as I mentioned, I joined 00:21:10.529 --> 00:21:13.250 Virgin Startup, started to go into a lot of those 00:21:13.250 --> 00:21:16.210 master classes and then founder led events. And 00:21:16.210 --> 00:21:19.089 then I also joined the Stack World by Sharma 00:21:19.089 --> 00:21:22.960 Dean Reed. And she also had a lot of founder 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:25.859 led, creative led events that I went to as well. 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:30.039 I just started, I suppose, putting my brand out 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:32.039 there, I suppose, leading as the face of the 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:34.299 brand. So there was a way that I was able to 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:37.440 do it with little to no cost really. That's amazing. 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:39.299 I'm a member of the stack world as well. I think 00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:43.099 it's such an incredible resource. Business owners 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:45.519 and Charmadine is obviously like a powerhouse. 00:21:49.619 --> 00:21:52.039 And who was that? Do you want to name drop the 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:54.940 freelance PR that you worked with? Yeah, so she's 00:21:54.940 --> 00:21:56.799 not I don't think she's doing it now. I know 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:00.880 she now works. Yeah, she works. She's gone back 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:03.839 in brand side. She works with a brand now doing 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:09.160 influencer marketing. Yeah. Yeah. And obviously, 00:22:09.220 --> 00:22:12.059 like the skincare space is very competitive. 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:15.680 How do you kind of balance that with being sort 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:19.279 of purpose driven alongside the kind of commercial 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:22.200 realities of always having to kind of keep up 00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:25.200 with the trends and, you know, being innovative 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:28.400 and kind of one step ahead. It's a really good 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:30.759 question. I think here at The Glows of Me, we're 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:34.000 all about, I suppose, long -term skin health. 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:37.920 So I don't really get caught up in the trends. 00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:40.660 I don't, yeah, I don't really know. I suppose 00:22:40.660 --> 00:22:43.680 it's like a personal preference. I see the trends 00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:46.269 and then I see... thousands of beauty brands 00:22:46.269 --> 00:22:49.710 come up with like lip oils or they'll try and 00:22:49.710 --> 00:22:52.170 catch the wave of like a TikTok trend. And that 00:22:52.170 --> 00:22:55.029 doesn't really align with what we want to do 00:22:55.029 --> 00:22:57.309 here at the Glow. So we were all about, you know, 00:22:57.490 --> 00:23:00.890 minimal skincare that has high performance effects. 00:23:01.690 --> 00:23:05.049 So I also do think speaking to our customers, 00:23:05.210 --> 00:23:08.349 our customers aren't really duped by the trends 00:23:08.349 --> 00:23:09.930 either. I was going to say, I don't think customers 00:23:09.930 --> 00:23:13.150 are that bothered. No, it just doesn't, and it's 00:23:13.150 --> 00:23:15.849 just expensive. I'm not going to create a whole 00:23:15.849 --> 00:23:18.190 new... You're churning out stuff that goes against, 00:23:18.190 --> 00:23:21.710 you know, sustainability. Yeah, it's not ethical, 00:23:21.990 --> 00:23:25.589 it's not sustainable. So yeah, I don't really 00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:27.410 get caught up in that. Some brands do it and 00:23:27.410 --> 00:23:29.569 I think the brands that do do it well are the 00:23:29.569 --> 00:23:31.769 brands that do have that budget behind them or 00:23:31.769 --> 00:23:34.470 suppose they do have that celebrity -led founder. 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:37.279 and that makes sense for them to do that but 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:39.420 given the values that we have here it just doesn't 00:23:39.420 --> 00:23:41.960 really align with the purpose. Yeah I think if 00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:45.259 you've got like a strong heartfelt story that's 00:23:45.259 --> 00:23:47.200 really authentic to you and people can resonate 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:49.500 with that's all that you really need isn't it 00:23:49.500 --> 00:23:52.660 as opposed to trying to go viral on TikTok. Yeah 00:23:52.660 --> 00:23:54.720 I'm not going to bring out a little just because 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:57.819 it's trending you know what what is that I'm 00:23:57.819 --> 00:24:00.519 just adding to the millions of products that 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:05.970 are already out there. No, 100%. And going back 00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:08.890 to the idea of kind of a lot of knowledge and 00:24:08.890 --> 00:24:15.109 resources being kind of withheld from a lot of 00:24:15.109 --> 00:24:18.470 sort of startups. Pricing, I think is a huge 00:24:18.470 --> 00:24:23.089 issue for Rindy Beauty brands. And they're really... 00:24:23.069 --> 00:24:24.970 From speaking to founders like yourself, there 00:24:24.970 --> 00:24:26.710 doesn't really seem to be that much information 00:24:26.710 --> 00:24:30.390 out there on how to price your product. So what 00:24:30.390 --> 00:24:33.369 factors did you consider when setting your pricing 00:24:33.369 --> 00:24:38.250 and how do you think founders can make their 00:24:38.250 --> 00:24:41.190 products value driven and accessible without 00:24:41.190 --> 00:24:45.109 kind of undermining the brand? Yeah, that's a 00:24:45.109 --> 00:24:48.220 really good point. I would have really understood 00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:50.660 it had it not been for the course. So the course 00:24:50.660 --> 00:24:53.119 that I took with Forno Britannica, it was an 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:55.519 international entrepreneur program. And it did 00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:59.559 have a section on pricing. So it of course included 00:24:59.559 --> 00:25:02.859 your raw ingredients, your packaging. I've also 00:25:02.859 --> 00:25:05.319 been told that you should include your shipping 00:25:05.319 --> 00:25:08.759 in there as well. And then also factor in your 00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:11.589 margins if you want to go to retail. because 00:25:11.589 --> 00:25:14.589 again I didn't know this until I started then 00:25:14.589 --> 00:25:17.390 reaching out to retailers how much a margin these 00:25:17.390 --> 00:25:21.150 retailers take it can be up to like 70 % and 00:25:21.150 --> 00:25:25.529 I was thrown off by that I didn't think it would 00:25:25.529 --> 00:25:30.650 be anywhere close to that so yeah I would say 00:25:30.650 --> 00:25:34.410 definitely raw ingredients packaging most definitely 00:25:34.410 --> 00:25:37.269 your time as well and I think we don't really 00:25:37.269 --> 00:25:41.150 factor in Well, if you're self formulating, people 00:25:41.150 --> 00:25:44.150 tend not to factor in their time, but that is 00:25:44.150 --> 00:25:46.569 also important because that's the bulk of it, 00:25:47.609 --> 00:25:51.630 especially that's the bulk amount of time, formulating, 00:25:51.990 --> 00:25:54.589 shipping costs. And then you also really need 00:25:54.589 --> 00:25:56.789 to factor in those margins for retail, because 00:25:56.789 --> 00:26:00.049 if your margins aren't correct, then retail is 00:26:00.049 --> 00:26:02.589 just going to swallow you whole. That's the thing 00:26:02.589 --> 00:26:04.470 people think, oh, when they get into a retailer, 00:26:04.529 --> 00:26:06.980 that's kind of the end of the rainbow. you know 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:08.960 role credits but actually that's when the real 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:11.119 work begins because there's not really much profit 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:13.720 to be made from what you're saying and then you 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:16.359 have to pay up again i wasn't i didn't know until 00:26:16.359 --> 00:26:18.180 i started reaching out to these retailers and 00:26:18.180 --> 00:26:20.240 speaking to my other founder friends that you 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:23.859 also have to pay for the marketing and any promotions 00:26:23.859 --> 00:26:26.559 that they do depending on where you sit on the 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:31.099 shelf it's yeah it's just so expensive so so 00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:33.740 expensive Would you say that's one of the biggest 00:26:33.740 --> 00:26:35.799 challenges that you faced as an indie beauty 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:40.700 brand founder? Yeah, for sure. And also, yeah, 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:42.440 it's not when you're having these conversations 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:45.799 with retailers, it's not really upfront. They 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:48.619 don't say, okay, it's going to cost this much 00:26:48.619 --> 00:26:51.519 until you're further down the line, I suppose, 00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:55.079 until you're further to agreeing to be on that 00:26:55.079 --> 00:26:59.190 retail in that retailer. So it is quite. It is 00:26:59.190 --> 00:27:01.670 quite daunting going into it as an indie brand, 00:27:01.970 --> 00:27:05.230 knowing that your margins are already severely 00:27:05.230 --> 00:27:07.630 cut and that on top of that, there's additional 00:27:07.630 --> 00:27:10.170 costs from, as I mentioned, the marketing and 00:27:10.170 --> 00:27:13.509 the promotion. So it is a hindrance, which is 00:27:13.509 --> 00:27:16.769 why here at The Ghost, we're looking more for 00:27:16.769 --> 00:27:21.970 the indie, smaller retailers to start with before 00:27:21.970 --> 00:27:24.980 going to, I suppose, the big guys. Yeah, that 00:27:24.980 --> 00:27:27.339 sounds like a really good strategy. Were there 00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:29.619 any other kind of major challenges? I mean, I'm 00:27:29.619 --> 00:27:32.380 sure there were, but what are the kind of main 00:27:32.380 --> 00:27:34.619 ones that you think are very kind of universal 00:27:34.619 --> 00:27:40.339 when it comes to launching a skincare line? I 00:27:40.339 --> 00:27:43.799 think for me, coming from the law industry, it 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:47.960 was a lot of fears. So there was obviously the 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:50.579 imposter syndrome, not really knowing anyone 00:27:50.579 --> 00:27:54.900 in the industry or not really knowing if I, if 00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:57.039 what I was doing was good enough, I had to come, 00:27:57.359 --> 00:27:59.579 I had to get to terms with that. I really at 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:02.619 the beginning and just trusting that it would 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:07.799 work out really during 11, we launched 11 days 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:09.900 before COVID. And I remember starting to see 00:28:09.900 --> 00:28:12.039 the news. Yeah, I remember starting to see the 00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:14.579 news trickling. And I thought, This can't be 00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:17.000 real life. I've gone through all those back -to 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:21.319 -back shifts. We're finally in the process of 00:28:21.319 --> 00:28:24.680 launching and now the world seems like it's about 00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:29.200 to shut down. So switching from, I suppose, a 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:32.619 lack to a growth mindset was really, really key 00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:35.759 from the outset. And just trusting that it was 00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:40.000 going to be okay. I had come so far in law, so 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:41.579 I suppose I really had to tell myself to pick 00:28:41.579 --> 00:28:44.269 my heart. I could have stayed in law. and struggled 00:28:44.269 --> 00:28:46.509 along doing that or I could have found my feet 00:28:46.509 --> 00:28:49.930 and worked harder in building a skincare brand, 00:28:50.009 --> 00:28:52.450 but at least I knew that I was happy and fulfilled 00:28:52.450 --> 00:28:56.069 doing it. So there had to be a quick mindset 00:28:56.069 --> 00:28:58.069 shift that I really had to adopt because it's 00:28:58.069 --> 00:29:03.160 hard. It is extremely challenging. I think mindset 00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:06.319 shift is kind of the key to successful entrepreneurism. 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:08.740 I know from my own experience that, you know, 00:29:08.920 --> 00:29:11.599 the rewards are so incredible, but you just have 00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:14.279 to stay in that everything's gonna be all right 00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:17.539 mentality. And it's like, some days I'm like 00:29:17.539 --> 00:29:19.759 on the high and other days I'm like, got my head 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:22.990 in my hands, like, what have I done? I'm with 00:29:22.990 --> 00:29:25.309 you, I'm having a good week this week but who 00:29:25.309 --> 00:29:27.490 knows what tomorrow may bring, you just never 00:29:27.490 --> 00:29:29.349 know. Exactly, it's a whole roller coaster of 00:29:29.349 --> 00:29:32.210 emotions. It is, it is, it is, that blind faith 00:29:32.210 --> 00:29:35.130 but as you said the rewards are just amazing. 00:29:35.750 --> 00:29:37.710 Yeah and I truly think that entrepreneurship 00:29:37.710 --> 00:29:39.950 is going to be the great leveller in our society. 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:43.619 When it comes to, you know, building an industry 00:29:43.619 --> 00:29:46.039 that we want to see that, you know, having true 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:48.640 equality and feeling empowered in the workplace, 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:51.900 I think that, you know, entrepreneurship is the 00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:53.480 only way that we're going to level the playing 00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:55.680 field. I don't know. I totally agree. No, I totally 00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:59.099 agree. Taking the control back. Yeah, because 00:29:59.099 --> 00:30:01.579 I feel you can't succeed in systems that weren't 00:30:01.579 --> 00:30:06.720 set up. No, you can't, especially. Going with 00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:09.259 the how the UK government is at the minute. I 00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:12.680 just don't think they want people to Really survive 00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:16.279 like in I suppose nine to five you get to a certain 00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:20.180 paid limb pay threshold and then the government 00:30:20.180 --> 00:30:24.119 takes forty percent then sixty percent is What 00:30:24.119 --> 00:30:27.000 is how are you gonna feel inspired to work harder 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:30.519 when you know that? You're just gonna half your 00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:32.900 wage is going back to the government. It's just 00:30:32.900 --> 00:30:36.059 no incentive to keep to keep working hard. And 00:30:36.059 --> 00:30:38.559 they work you hard in corporate. It's not okay. 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:42.660 Oh my gosh, yes. Work to the bone. And just that, 00:30:42.660 --> 00:30:44.599 you know, having to dilute your personality to 00:30:44.599 --> 00:30:47.259 fit into corporate culture, code switching, I'm 00:30:47.259 --> 00:30:50.819 sure you have experience of that. And, you know, 00:30:50.819 --> 00:30:53.220 if you're neurodivergent, having to kind of mask, 00:30:53.319 --> 00:30:56.359 it's just exhausting, isn't it? It's wind clipping 00:30:56.359 --> 00:30:59.119 a bit. It didn't align with me. I think you have 00:30:59.119 --> 00:31:02.279 to be a certain personality type to get on with 00:31:02.279 --> 00:31:05.359 corporate. And it just... Yeah, didn't agree 00:31:05.359 --> 00:31:09.799 with me at all. And when it comes to just circling 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:14.000 back to sustainability, obviously, you know, 00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:18.160 to be sustainable costs more. How would you kind 00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:20.819 of advise founders who want to be as sustainable 00:31:20.819 --> 00:31:23.440 as possible, but they're working with a smaller 00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:26.119 budget. So if they want to find sustainable suppliers, 00:31:26.599 --> 00:31:29.700 they, you know, obviously have to work out how 00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:31.660 they're going to balance everything. because 00:31:31.660 --> 00:31:33.259 obviously it costs more than working with kind 00:31:33.259 --> 00:31:37.839 of regular suppliers. That's true I would say 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:41.859 look choose one thing so we can't we can't be 00:31:41.859 --> 00:31:44.319 sustainable well you can but at a smaller level 00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:47.019 you can't be sustainable at everything so for 00:31:47.019 --> 00:31:49.980 me I've chosen to go with ingredients but people 00:31:49.980 --> 00:31:52.720 might want to choose going with I don't know 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:56.529 a ethical manufacturer or really getting down 00:31:56.529 --> 00:31:58.930 to the nitty -gritty of their packaging they 00:31:58.930 --> 00:32:01.309 might want to be using sugar cane packaging instead 00:32:01.309 --> 00:32:04.910 of plastic packaging like choose something and 00:32:04.910 --> 00:32:08.089 do that really well and then I suppose you don't 00:32:08.089 --> 00:32:11.410 have to worry about the extra costs of trying 00:32:11.410 --> 00:32:13.750 to be sustainable in all areas so I suppose that's 00:32:13.750 --> 00:32:16.269 where it's gonna that's where it's gonna eat 00:32:16.269 --> 00:32:17.950 into your margins that's where it's just gonna 00:32:17.950 --> 00:32:22.529 cause excessive stress choose one thing and then 00:32:22.559 --> 00:32:25.420 in your marketing, in your brand strategy, shout 00:32:25.420 --> 00:32:28.519 about you being the best in that one thing. And 00:32:28.519 --> 00:32:33.059 then as you grow, you can start, I suppose, branching 00:32:33.059 --> 00:32:37.259 out into more sustainable processes. But in the 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:38.759 meantime, while you're still in that growing 00:32:38.759 --> 00:32:42.079 phase, I think, as I mentioned, picking one thing 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:43.940 and just doing that incredibly well and knowing 00:32:43.940 --> 00:32:46.140 and backing yourself that, okay, I've got the 00:32:46.140 --> 00:32:48.819 best cold pressed ingredients. And then going 00:32:48.819 --> 00:32:51.420 from there is a really great, great starting 00:32:51.420 --> 00:32:53.720 point. Definitely, and telling a transparent 00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:56.299 story about it. So rather than saying, we're 00:32:56.299 --> 00:32:58.880 not fully sustainable yet. But we're trying. 00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:03.819 We're trying our best. It's like all of us, exactly. 00:33:04.380 --> 00:33:06.539 I'm supposed we're not sustainable in all areas, 00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:09.099 but we're all doing our bit. And the customer 00:33:09.099 --> 00:33:12.279 just values that authenticity rather than, I 00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:15.640 suppose, as you mentioned earlier, trying to 00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:18.700 shout about you being clean in all areas, but 00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:21.839 you're not doing all the areas right. or at the 00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:24.720 best of your ability. Yeah, because you will 00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:27.200 get found out eventually. They'll sniff you out. 00:33:27.500 --> 00:33:30.980 Yeah, they will. Yes, exactly. And in this digital 00:33:30.980 --> 00:33:35.700 age, people... No one's safe. Oh, no one. No 00:33:35.700 --> 00:33:39.900 one. What product would you say you're the most 00:33:39.900 --> 00:33:41.500 proud of? Like, what would you say is like kind 00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:44.579 of your baby that kind of encapsulates the range 00:33:44.579 --> 00:33:47.440 the best? I would definitely say it's our... 00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:50.359 Clean Green Superfood Serum. So that was one 00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:54.099 of the first products that we launched. And it's 00:33:54.099 --> 00:33:55.900 really good for restoring your skin's natural 00:33:55.900 --> 00:33:59.460 glow, locking in moisture and brightening any 00:33:59.460 --> 00:34:03.440 dullness that you may be experiencing. And it 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:06.319 honestly took me such a long time to formulate. 00:34:07.299 --> 00:34:09.840 Because I was using cold pressed ingredients 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:13.280 and they have various different natural scents 00:34:13.280 --> 00:34:17.829 and textures. Every time that I was going through 00:34:17.829 --> 00:34:20.090 that formulation process, it just felt like I 00:34:20.090 --> 00:34:22.449 was taking two steps back and I just couldn't 00:34:22.449 --> 00:34:26.150 get the skin feel right. So the skin feel alone, 00:34:26.329 --> 00:34:29.429 working with the, I believe we've got about 20 00:34:29.429 --> 00:34:33.510 ingredients in there, just took such a long time 00:34:33.510 --> 00:34:37.230 just for the skin feel and then for the natural 00:34:37.230 --> 00:34:39.590 scent. So we use natural essential oils in there 00:34:39.590 --> 00:34:42.469 as well. I believe there's five, rose geranium, 00:34:42.610 --> 00:34:45.909 bergamot, lemongrass, tea tree and lavender. 00:34:46.250 --> 00:34:49.849 then trying to get those into a really nice, 00:34:49.849 --> 00:34:54.250 like, sensual experience, but also mask, not 00:34:54.250 --> 00:34:56.710 totally mask, but also complement the natural 00:34:56.710 --> 00:34:59.289 sense of the cold press oils. Just took ages. 00:34:59.690 --> 00:35:02.849 I must have exhausted my mum and my sister by 00:35:02.849 --> 00:35:05.210 going, what do you think of this, Mal? Try this, 00:35:05.269 --> 00:35:06.030 what do you think of this? They were the guinea 00:35:06.030 --> 00:35:08.929 pigs. They were the guinea pigs. And I remember 00:35:08.929 --> 00:35:11.420 my sister just being like, yeah. it's okay and 00:35:11.420 --> 00:35:14.500 I'm like no you need to give me a bit more emotion 00:35:14.500 --> 00:35:19.260 she's in physiotherapy so beauty is not her um 00:35:19.260 --> 00:35:21.780 area but I was just like no I need I need more 00:35:21.780 --> 00:35:25.440 from you so that really took a long time but 00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:29.079 once I got it right it has been it has become 00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:32.679 a cult product and it's the product that most 00:35:32.679 --> 00:35:35.059 people who try the Glow Sue for the first time 00:35:35.059 --> 00:35:37.900 they usually try clean greens and then they tend 00:35:37.900 --> 00:35:40.260 to branch out into other products and it was 00:35:40.260 --> 00:35:43.500 also the product that won best facial oil in 00:35:43.500 --> 00:35:46.420 the West Women's Health Beauty Awards. So we 00:35:46.420 --> 00:35:48.480 launched it in March and by September we had 00:35:48.480 --> 00:35:51.159 won that which is just again just testament to. 00:35:51.460 --> 00:35:53.559 Amazing. I know thank you. Congratulations. Thank 00:35:53.559 --> 00:35:56.840 you. I'm really proud of that one. And what's 00:35:56.840 --> 00:35:59.880 the kind of big picture vision for the glossary, 00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:02.659 like five or 10 years time? What would be, what's 00:36:02.659 --> 00:36:04.760 on your kind of vision board if you're into that? 00:36:04.980 --> 00:36:07.920 What would be the dream for you? That's a really 00:36:07.920 --> 00:36:09.599 big question. And I think about this all the 00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:12.679 time. So I definitely see the girls who develop 00:36:12.679 --> 00:36:16.760 it into more of a lifestyle brand where we encompass 00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:20.260 really nourishing whole food ingredients that 00:36:20.260 --> 00:36:24.159 take care of your skin from the inside out. So 00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:28.320 branching into aligned sectors also becoming 00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:32.460 more of a community led brand. I do want to have 00:36:32.460 --> 00:36:36.900 in the future IRL flagship stores. I also do 00:36:36.900 --> 00:36:41.980 see it being a sort of like holistic wellness 00:36:41.980 --> 00:36:46.380 brand that encompasses products, services that 00:36:46.380 --> 00:36:50.000 also just cater to your environment of healthy 00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:55.349 skin. Of course here in the UK. ever filled abroad. 00:36:56.030 --> 00:36:58.469 So yeah, the vision board is vast and it keeps 00:36:58.469 --> 00:37:00.449 and it keeps changing every day. But I'm like, 00:37:00.550 --> 00:37:05.210 no, I will. I will achieve this one step in one 00:37:05.210 --> 00:37:07.130 step in front of the other. That's all I that's 00:37:07.130 --> 00:37:09.789 all I say to myself consistency. And I'll get 00:37:09.789 --> 00:37:13.210 there. I'll get there. I'm sure you will. And 00:37:13.210 --> 00:37:15.590 yeah, I'm sure you've kind of heard the news 00:37:15.590 --> 00:37:18.150 about Carol's daughter and how it's been reacquired 00:37:18.150 --> 00:37:22.659 by the founder. I mean, would you be um ideally 00:37:22.659 --> 00:37:26.380 be eyeing up kind of being um acquired by a conglomerate 00:37:26.380 --> 00:37:28.219 would that be on the cards for you do you think? 00:37:28.840 --> 00:37:33.159 I don't know at this such early stage I just 00:37:33.159 --> 00:37:35.139 don't I don't know I would have to say I don't 00:37:35.139 --> 00:37:38.639 know but never say never never but if it was 00:37:38.639 --> 00:37:42.940 to be acquired it would have to be a bigger company 00:37:42.940 --> 00:37:45.679 that really does align with the grocery values 00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:48.460 and if we was even considering something like 00:37:48.460 --> 00:37:52.119 that there would be stringent questions that 00:37:52.119 --> 00:37:54.300 I would have to ask them to make sure that they're 00:37:54.300 --> 00:37:57.420 taking care of the brand because I've seen it, 00:37:57.440 --> 00:38:00.940 I've seen it with especially black owned brands 00:38:00.940 --> 00:38:04.099 when they do become acquired there does seem 00:38:04.099 --> 00:38:08.559 to be a level of distrust from the customers 00:38:08.559 --> 00:38:12.409 that the brand the conglomerate that is acquiring 00:38:12.409 --> 00:38:16.730 the brand is then gonna stick to the same formulas. 00:38:17.190 --> 00:38:20.989 So it would have to be like a due diligence to 00:38:20.989 --> 00:38:23.889 make sure that even though they're taking over 00:38:23.889 --> 00:38:26.809 the brands, maybe I'm involved in the product 00:38:26.809 --> 00:38:29.869 development side so we can make sure that future 00:38:29.869 --> 00:38:32.949 products are still aligning with the grocery 00:38:32.949 --> 00:38:35.449 values despite a change of ownership because 00:38:35.449 --> 00:38:39.539 I get it. I totally get it. People do. think 00:38:39.539 --> 00:38:41.719 that these bigger brands, I mean we see in the 00:38:41.719 --> 00:38:44.579 industry they do acquire these brands, all of 00:38:44.579 --> 00:38:46.739 a sudden they're no longer using glass packaging, 00:38:47.300 --> 00:38:50.880 they're using plastic, they're using filler ingredients, 00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:54.579 they've changed the formula. So at this stage 00:38:54.579 --> 00:38:57.380 I can't see it but I would say never say never. 00:38:58.260 --> 00:39:01.599 No definitely, I mean there are some larger conglomerates, 00:39:01.659 --> 00:39:04.960 won't name names, but are kind of notorious for 00:39:05.179 --> 00:39:07.820 buying brands and kind of bleeding them dry, 00:39:08.340 --> 00:39:10.480 rinsing them for what they're worth and then 00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:14.000 discarding them. It's horrible. And you think 00:39:14.000 --> 00:39:16.239 that that poor founder, they've spent their whole 00:39:16.239 --> 00:39:18.480 life building it up. It's just an incredible 00:39:18.480 --> 00:39:22.420 moment to be able to, okay, I've achieved the 00:39:22.420 --> 00:39:25.400 heights that I have. Now let me pass the baton 00:39:25.400 --> 00:39:28.579 so that they can then build on it. And they just, 00:39:28.639 --> 00:39:32.289 they crumble. It's horrible to see. Really, really 00:39:32.289 --> 00:39:36.269 awful. But on to happier things. What is kind 00:39:36.269 --> 00:39:39.130 of in the immediate future that you're allowed 00:39:39.130 --> 00:39:40.929 to talk about when it comes to the glossary? 00:39:41.170 --> 00:39:45.130 Like any cool new excuse on the horizon or anything 00:39:45.130 --> 00:39:48.929 else that you care to share? Yes, we're working 00:39:48.929 --> 00:39:53.469 on two new products. So they've been quite challenging, 00:39:53.510 --> 00:39:55.530 I have to say. I think this is one of the, if 00:39:55.530 --> 00:39:57.489 there is a negative to formulating your own products, 00:39:57.510 --> 00:40:01.360 this is one of them that It just takes such a 00:40:01.360 --> 00:40:05.980 long time. And running the business and trying 00:40:05.980 --> 00:40:08.659 to formulate new products is just extremely, 00:40:08.760 --> 00:40:11.380 it's a balancing act, but no exciting things. 00:40:11.500 --> 00:40:13.579 Yes, to say the least. Yes, to say the least. 00:40:13.619 --> 00:40:17.159 Two new products, one in a new category that 00:40:17.159 --> 00:40:19.599 I'm really excited about. And then we have a 00:40:19.599 --> 00:40:24.059 really innovative, high performance product coming 00:40:24.059 --> 00:40:27.699 later on. in the year so around q4 but i don't 00:40:27.699 --> 00:40:29.840 want to say too much yet but it is i'm really 00:40:29.840 --> 00:40:32.480 excited the benefit the efficacy of the product 00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:35.820 the texture i've already been um testing and 00:40:35.820 --> 00:40:38.860 sampling the initial um samples and it's and 00:40:38.860 --> 00:40:41.159 it's great so i'm really really excited to get 00:40:41.159 --> 00:40:43.760 some new products out oh fantastic well can't 00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:46.239 wait to hear um more about it when you're when 00:40:46.239 --> 00:40:49.639 you're able to definitely when i can i'll definitely 00:40:49.639 --> 00:40:52.679 show it more for sure Fantastic. Well, Rishan, 00:40:52.739 --> 00:40:55.199 thank you so much for joining me on the show. 00:40:55.280 --> 00:40:57.980 It was really lovely chatting with you. Hopefully 00:40:57.980 --> 00:41:00.159 get you back on at some point. Yes, I would love 00:41:00.159 --> 00:41:01.900 that. Thank you so much for having me. I've really 00:41:01.900 --> 00:41:16.900 enjoyed our conversation. I hope you enjoyed 00:41:16.900 --> 00:41:19.280 that episode. All links will be in the show notes 00:41:19.280 --> 00:41:22.519 and feel free to visit smartbeautycreative .com 00:41:22.519 --> 00:41:25.179 or visit us over on Instagram to find out more 00:41:25.179 --> 00:41:27.340 about what we do. And if you enjoyed listening, 00:41:27.739 --> 00:41:29.519 please don't forget to rate and review Smart 00:41:29.519 --> 00:41:32.099 Beauty on iTunes as it helps people find us. 00:41:32.360 --> 00:41:33.139 See you next time.